NCIS---Cote de Pablo is leaving the series. She decided not to renew her contract and her last appearance will be on Season 11's premiere on September 24. De Pablo said, “I’ve had eight great years with NCIS and Ziva David. I have huge respect and affection for Mark [Harmon], Gary [Glasberg], Michael [Weatherly], David [McCallum], Rocky [Carroll], Pauley [Perrette], Brian [Dietzen], Sean [Murray], all of the team and CBS. I look forward to finishing Ziva’s story.”

JAMES BOND---Eon Productions, Sony Pictures and MGM announced that Daniel Craig and director Sam Mendes will return for the 24th James Bond movie.

THE BLACK HOLE---director Joseph Kosinski (OBLIVION) commented on the reboot of the cult 1979 Disney movie and the sequel to his TRON: LEGACY, "Both projects are being written right now by two really talented writers. Jon Spaihts is writing Black Hole and Jesse Wigutow is writing TRON 3. Both scripts are in progress, I'm really excited about both. The fundamental ideas of both are really interesting. The TRON sequel kind of takes where we left off with 'Legacy,' that idea presented in the last few minutes of the film and really expands on it in a really exciting way." He commented on if his THE BLACK HOLE is a reboot or a remake, "I guess I would call it a reboot because the fundamental concept is there but we are taking it in our own direction."

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2---new photo show Jamie Foxx as Electro and Spider-Man's new suit after fan criticism on the first reboot movie's suit.

CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER---concept art was released. premiere is April 14, 2014.

DAY OF THE DEAD---remake underway of George A. Romero's 1985 zombie movie which, unlike the 2008 direct-to-video remake, will honor the original movie and will feature slow-moving zombies.

SOLACE---photo released from the movie about a psychic doctor who helps the FBI track a serial killer who is found to be psychic, too. Anthony Hopkins, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Colin Farrell, Janine Turner and Abbie Cornish star.

MORDECAI---Johnny Depp is in negotiations to star in this movie as an art dealer/rogue who“must traverse the globe armed only with his good looks and special charm in a race to recover a stolen painting rumored to contain the code to a lost bank account filled with Nazi gold.” David Koepp (JURASSIC PARK) is the writer/director.

THE STRAIN---Robert Maillet (300, PACIFIC RIM) will play ancient vampire The Master in the FX/Guillermo del Toro pilot about a CDC team battling a vampire plague in New York.

UNBROKEN---Jack O'Connell (SKINS) will play Olympic star and World War II POW Lou Zamperini in this movie directed by Angelina Jolie.

ARROW---Summer Glau (FIREFLY) will have a recurring role in Season 2 as Isabel Rochev, a vice president of Stellmoor International which is attempting to take over Queen Consolidated.

CASTLE---Lisa Edelstein (HOUSE) will have a recurring role in Season 6.

GLEE---Adam Lambert is joining the cast for the new season.

JODOROWSKY'S DUNE---documentary about Alejandro Jodorowsky's failed attempt to make a movie based on the Frank Herbert sci fi novel which would have starred his 12-year-old son, Orson Welles, Mick Jagger, Salvador Dali and David Carradine. Sony Pictures acquired the documentary's North American distribution rights.

THE BLACK HOLE---director Joseph Kosinski (OBLIVION) commented on the reboot of the cult 1979 Disney movie and the sequel to his TRON: LEGACY, "Both projects are being written right now by two really talented writers. Jon Spaihts is writing Black Hole and Jesse Wigutow is writing TRON 3. Both scripts are in progress, I'm really excited about both. The fundamental ideas of both are really interesting. The TRON sequel kind of takes where we left off with 'Legacy,' that idea presented in the last few minutes of the film and really expands on it in a really exciting way."

So they'll explain how the pile of pixels that is Quorra can survive outside the computer world?

THE BLACK HOLE---director Joseph Kosinski (OBLIVION) commented on the reboot of the cult 1979 Disney movie and the sequel to his TRON: LEGACY, "Both projects are being written right now by two really talented writers. Jon Spaihts is writing Black Hole and Jesse Wigutow is writing TRON 3. Both scripts are in progress, I'm really excited about both. The fundamental ideas of both are really interesting. The TRON sequel kind of takes where we left off with 'Legacy,' that idea presented in the last few minutes of the film and really expands on it in a really exciting way." He commented on if his THE BLACK HOLE is a reboot or a remake, "I guess I would call it a reboot because the fundamental concept is there but we are taking it in our own direction."

.

Well those two movies could line up for the DISNEY Bomb of the Year for 2015 and 2016 or something like that.

Disney has sure bombed out last couple years, John Carter, Lone Ranger. Black Hole and Tron 3, I mean, what on earth are they thinking? If they are trying to find ways to flush $400 million dollars down the toilet on a glorified two hour advertisement I guess this would be it. Executive talent at Disney could use a shakeup for sure.

THE BLACK HOLE---director Joseph Kosinski (OBLIVION) commented on the reboot of the cult 1979 Disney movie and the sequel to his TRON: LEGACY, "Both projects are being written right now by two really talented writers. Jon Spaihts is writing Black Hole and Jesse Wigutow is writing TRON 3. Both scripts are in progress, I'm really excited about both. The fundamental ideas of both are really interesting. The TRON sequel kind of takes where we left off with 'Legacy,' that idea presented in the last few minutes of the film and really expands on it in a really exciting way." He commented on if his THE BLACK HOLE is a reboot or a remake, "I guess I would call it a reboot because the fundamental concept is there but we are taking it in our own direction."

.

Well those two movies could line up for the DISNEY Bomb of the Year for 2015 and 2016 or something like that.

Disney has sure bombed out last couple years, John Carter, Lone Ranger. Black Hole and Tron 3, I mean, what on earth are they thinking? If they are trying to find ways to flush $400 million dollars down the toilet on a glorified two hour advertisement I guess this would be it. Executive talent at Disney could use a shakeup for sure.

I liked Tron Legacy, (At least it was visually interesting with an innovative score) and I would welcome a Black Hole reboot. (ala BSG). Though I don't understand why they would green light BH, when they have like 10 Star Wars films in the works!

Well those two movies could line up for the DISNEY Bomb of the Year for 2015 and 2016 or something like that.

Disney has sure bombed out last couple years, John Carter, Lone Ranger. Black Hole and Tron 3, I mean, what on earth are they thinking? If they are trying to find ways to flush $400 million dollars down the toilet on a glorified two hour advertisement I guess this would be it. Executive talent at Disney could use a shakeup for sure.

I liked Tron Legacy, (At least it was visually interesting with an innovative score) and I would welcome a Black Hole reboot. (ala BSG). Though I don't understand why they would green light BH, when they have like 10 Star Wars films in the works!

Well, I will watch almost any visually interesting sci-fi picture. Tron was interesting. I am just saying as business ideas, these are big scale stupid, like you said, they have Star Wars planned out for years. Why Black Hole? And Tron is just not that sell-able to Joe and Jane moviegoer, unless they take the story out of the grid world.

Okay - arguably a remake or reboot is inherently unadventurous or innovative. In that regard I cannot praise Disney for originality there.

However

I *do* applaud them for being willing to stick their necks out from under the safety blanket of Star Wars projects (!) to try other things... maybe they appreciate some immense talent that is helming each project. Maybe they have faith in some artists.

I think TRON:Legacy was brilliant. I think you *needed* to view the first TRON in order to properly appreciate the sequel. And I VERY much look forward to the third. I might share Disney`s collective faith in those folks.

The Black Hole? It has been a long time. I was young when I saw it. Schell was brilliant, the concept truly important sci-fi, the Cygnus was a great, doom-portending ship, and both the ending and the music were fantastic. A remake/reboot? Hmmm. I`ll give it a go, given the TRON: Legacy fellow is behind it.

The Black Hole was widely regarded as "not all that good" and I would rather see remakes or reboots of something that stank rather than try to recapture something great and fall short. Sure, I liked the film and it is an admitted "Cult Classic" (which means fans like it - regular people didn't), but if they're going to redo past films, better to have another crack at something that didn't work out. Remakes of some failed films have turned into genuine classics.

Whew! Ya lost me there, as did the film's ending, BTW. It's admittedly a case where any ending they could've come up with might have been a letdown, given the elaborate set-up, but wow.

I remember some critical reactions to TBH noted its similarities to (and possible origins in) the superior earlier Disney film, "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea." TBH is, in itself, a reboot, or at least a futuristic reinterprtation of Verne's Captain Nemo story. Perhaps the answers to crafting a successful reboot lie that way.

Whew! Ya lost me there, as did the film's ending, BTW. It's admittedly a case where any ending they could've come up with might have been a letdown, given the elaborate set-up, but wow.

I remember some critical reactions to TBH noted its similarities to (and possible origins in) the superior earlier Disney film, "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea." TBH is, in itself, a reboot, or at least a futuristic reinterprtation of Verne's Captain Nemo story. Perhaps the answers to crafting a successful reboot lie that way.

I don't often drink beer, but when I do . . .

Heh heh,

Regarding the ending (!) [SPOILER] seeing Schell`s character 'travelling' to Hell to be hostage for eternity to a procession of those whom he murdered (and worse) has a poetic glory to it. I don`t champion it for its portrayal, enforcement, or reinforcement (if at all) of a religious foundation, I rather salute the superb theater of it. [END SPOILER] At least for that character, the ending seemed to be primally satisfying... especially with Barry`s elegiac accompaniment.

Regarding the ending (!) [SPOILER] seeing Schell`s character 'travelling' to Hell to be hostage for eternity to a procession of those whom he murdered (and worse) has a poetic glory to it. I don`t champion it for its portrayal, enforcement, or reinforcement (if at all) of a religious foundation, I rather salute the superb theater of it. [END SPOILER]

But the problem with it is that they're clearly NOT Schell's eyes inside the robot head. Smacks of reshoot mayhem - maybe they didn't want to pay Schell full whack for half a day's work, so they grabbed some random guy and stuck him in it. Awful. In fact, the whole ending looks like it was "reinvented" in a panic stricken edit room (the quasi religious imagery is just insulting to the meagre notions of science found in the movie). The FX quality takes a dive too.

Horrible movie. Despite the big sets, everything feels claustrophobic. That isn't helped by a cast too small in number. Feels like there are four people in the movie, plus some charmless trying-way-too-hard-to-be-cute robots. Everyone's miscast and too lightweight except Schell, and the fact that ALL of the dialogue is post-dubbed keeps everything at one remove and artificial.

Regarding the ending (!) [SPOILER] seeing Schell`s character 'travelling' to Hell to be hostage for eternity to a procession of those whom he murdered (and worse) has a poetic glory to it. I don`t champion it for its portrayal, enforcement, or reinforcement (if at all) of a religious foundation, I rather salute the superb theater of it.

I can respect that. It's probably just hard for a ten-year-old (like I was at the time) to grasp, to say nothing of the uncomfortable mix of what, until then, was purportedly a science-fiction story with a sudden left-turn into some bizarre Wagnerian fantasy pageant. I think the Disney executives were probably hoping for a grand WTF?! moment, you know, "My GOD, it's full of STARS!"-like thing. You'd really need Kirk and Spock standing there, finishing each other's sentences for ten minutes, to explain it all properly. "Obviously, Max is moving on to the next step in our evolution. He's won the Oscar, he's grown a beard and he must evolve. Clearly, the black hole itself is a metaphorical purgatory, Carl-Sagan-be-damned." "That's exactly what I was just going to say . . . What do you think, Bones?"

"It's been a long time since I delivered a baby. But when I do, I enjoy an ice-cold Dos Equis . . ."

I think TRON:Legacy was brilliant. I think you *needed* to view the first TRON in order to properly appreciate the sequel.

I'd say the creators of LEGACY "didn't get" the original at all. The brilliance of the first movie is that it can be taken both literally and allegorically at the same time. LEGACY was not a sequel, it was a reboot, superior only in the quality of its VFX—but I'd argue against that, too. Take Quorra's dune buggy, for example. It had shock absorbers, and the recognizers had jet exhausts. The virtual world vehicles shouldn't need real world engineering in them. The recognizers fly because they are exempt from the gravity subroutine. They don't need jets to fly. And the lightcycles were exciting (the first time around) because of those physically impossible "Tron turns." The new lightcycles bank and make curved turns. Yawn. And why did Sam Flynn arrive in the entry port in his own clothes? (Answer: To provide an excuse for an erotic "debriefing" by the latex babes.) In short, adding hyper-realistic sims to the virtual world made this more of a MATRIX spin-off than a TRON sequel.

All too often some creation is blockbuster successful, leading some producer to believe that "more of the same" will be a continuing cash cow. And so the original concept is flattened to a formula with no artistic expression in it, no heart. "If we do this, this and this, it will be a blockbuster." Also, the original allegorical concept left nothing more to be said. LEGACY was about as stimulating as watching someone else play a videogame.

I just love the pretension of an argument that there is something "to get" in the original TRON which the makers of TRON: Legacy couldn't tap into. Thankfully internet message boards remind me that knowledge is only a keystroke deep.

Down with Hollywood! From now on, only members of FSM are allowed to make movies because they "get" them!

Oh yes! I'm interested in seeing that one. Good on them for sticking with the NC-17 rating. I wish that wasn't a death knell for exhibitors but I know Lukas and his crew must be proud of what they have put together.

NCIS---Cote de Pablo is leaving the series. She decided not to renew her contract and her last appearance will be on Season 11's premiere on September 24. De Pablo said, “I’ve had eight great years with NCIS and Ziva David. I have huge respect and affection for Mark [Harmon], Gary [Glasberg], Michael [Weatherly], David [McCallum], Rocky [Carroll], Pauley [Perrette], Brian [Dietzen], Sean [Murray], all of the team and CBS. I look forward to finishing Ziva’s story.”

I understand your perspective which occurred to me as well, but I believe the [SPOILER] setting excused such liberties taken with the 'new' TRON reality. Since Flynn was spending more time inside the machine to shape it, it is natural that he would develop things in a manner that seemed familiar to him rather than alien. To lend elements of that world more trademarks of the real world would simply be in line with the mindset of the shaper... in this case, Flynn. [END SPOILER]